Market Street is one of the city's most dangerous streets for pedestrians, with its wide cross streets and proximity to freeways.

Market Street is one of the city's most dangerous streets for pedestrians, with its wide cross streets and proximity to freeways.

Photo: Darryl Jones, Special To The Chronicle

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Pedestrians on Market Street

Pedestrians on Market Street

Photo: Darryl Jones, Special To The Chronicle

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Pedestrians on Market Street

Pedestrians on Market Street

Photo: Darryl Jones, Special To The Chronicle

Market Street: Improvement project

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Market Street has inspired strong emotions ever since Jasper O'Farrell, who designed the ultra-wide street, narrowly escaped a mob enraged by its proposed width. Today, the Better Market Street project is designing ways to make that 120 feet meet all the needs people have.

The needs are great. On average, according to the Better Market Street project, a quarter of a million people walk on Market Street every day. A similar number take public transit there every day. And more people bike on Market than any other street in the city.

For all these people who use Market now, is it a pleasant place to be? Is it truly the "grand boulevard" that O'Farrell and other city leaders dreamed of? Could it become one?

And is it even really one street, or is each block like a separate island, from the bustle of the Financial District and the crush of shopping crowds, to the single-room-occupancy hotel residents and uncertain tourists wandering through windswept mid-Market?

These questions are being posed at upcoming events sponsored by Walk San Francisco and the Better Market Street project, a city effort to redesign Market Street as a more pedestrian, bicycle and transit-oriented street.

Forthcoming events

The first event is a free screening of "This Is Market Street," a film by Darryl Jones, on Wednesday (6 p.m. Koret Auditorium, Main Library, 100 Larkin St., S.F. www.bit.ly/19iCXqe). The half-hour film documents the street today, with perspectives from urban planners, designers, advocates and historians, and a variety of people who live, work and walk there. The film will be followed by an audience Q&A with a panel including the filmmaker and representatives from Walk SF, the Planning Department and the Yerba Buena Community Benefit District to discuss what works on Market and what ails it.

The film will be screened again on July 11 (12:30 p.m. Free; $10 for non-members. San Francisco Planning and Urban Research, 654 Mission St., S.F.), with a brief panel and audience discussion afterward.

Later in July, the Better Market Street project will host workshops to present designs and gather public feedback. The workshops will be July 17 (6-8:30 p.m. Parc 55 Hotel, 55 Cyril Magnin St., S.F.) and July 20 (10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Main Library).

These events, and the project, are wrestling with big issues. First, Market Street is a critical transportation corridor. On no other street in the city do as many people walk, bike and take public transit. But what is that experience like?

Busy corridor

Half of all the city's Muni buses run along the surface of Market Street at the peak of the evening rush hour. This has a powerful implication: If Muni buses can move more quickly along this street, that could improve the system throughout the entire city. Proposals to reduce private car use, space out Muni boarding islands and add ticket machines along Market could all help reduce transit time.

Market Street is one of the city's high-injury corridors for pedestrians. The danger primarily comes from the wide streets that cross Market, heavy with traffic to and from freeways. Crossing these streets is perilous for people, whether cars speed across or pile up in the crosswalks. These crossings could be fixed with simple tools such as expanding the sidewalk with "bulb-outs," and reducing the number of cars on the street that often turn across packed crosswalks.

Public space matters, too, to turn Market into a destination, and not just a corridor. New businesses and development are bringing more people in and out of the buildings that line the street. Fixing the plazas and adding a "street life zone" - like the Civic Center farmers' market and Off the Grid days at United Nations Plaza - could enliven the street with shops, art, food and places to sit so you don't have to plop down on the sidewalk to eat lunch.

What else would you like to see on Market Street? See a trailer of the film at www.bit.ly/141HbNg, then come say what you think would make the Better Market Street project live up to its name.

Walk About Town is presented by Walk San Francisco. Walk SF and its members are reclaiming the city's streets as safe, shared public space for everyone to enjoy. Find out how you can help make San Francisco a more livable, walkable city and about forthcoming events at http://walksf.org.